WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) Price Target Raised to $110.00 at Scotiabank

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) had its target price hoisted by Scotiabank from $103.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector outperform rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

WEC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.18.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $97.11 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 87.29%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WEC Energy Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 452.4% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 23,067 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 154,547 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,126,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 4,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 60,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,771,000 after purchasing an additional 4,571 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.